Wagon



'(NoModeL) 1VL- G 0 NR AD.

WAGON.

No.334,350.- Patented Jan. 12, 1886..-

N. PETERS. Pholc-lilhcgmphen Washingloll. D. c.

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN CONRAD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WAGON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 334,350, dated January12-, 1886.

Application filed May 25, 1885. Serial No. 166,606. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN CONRAD, of

Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of to the accompanyingdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of wagons;and it consists in the matters hereinafter set forth, and pointed out inthe appended claims.

A principal feature of my invention relates to the form of thetongue-hounds in that class of wagons having fifth-wheels; and itconsists in bent-wood hounds downwardly curved or depressed betweentheir ends, so that their forward and rear end portionsare elevatedabove their depressed middle parts, where they are attached to the axleand sand-board in such manner that the fifth-wheel may be directlysustained by the hounds. By this construction the advantage is obtainedthat the use of objectionably deep and heavy crosspieces upon the houndsto support the fifthwheel is rendered unnecessary, and also that theforward ends of the hounds are brought into position to sustain thewagontongue or shafts at a proper elevation above the ground withoutundulyelevating the hounds above the axle-arms for this purpose.

The invention also embraces improvements in the rear parts of the gearof a .springless wagon, in a skid'support, and in other features ofconstruction in wagons, as will herei inafter appear.

The invention may be more fully understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which--,

Figure l is a side elevation of a wagon-gear embodying my invention,with the wheels the front axle, sand-board, bolster, and adjacent parts.Fig. 4 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, a portion thereofbeing in section, taken on line 00 w of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 isa, detaillongitudinal sectional View of the skidsupport. Fig. 6 is a detailcross-section of the skid-support, taken upon line 00 w of Fig. 5.

Referring first to the parts of the wagongear adjacent to the front axleand hounds, A is the front axle; B, the sand-board; C, the fronthounds;D, the bolster; E, the fifthwheel; F F, the front and rear crossbarsat-.

tached upon the hounds and supporting the wheel Eat the front and rearof the bolster from the cross-pieces I.

The hounds C are secured between the axle A and the sand-board B, andinstead of being straight, as heretofore usually made, are constructedof bent wood and downwardly curved or depressed between their ends, sothat their front and rear parts are elevated considerably above theirpoints of attachment to the axle and the sand-board. The front and rearcrosspieces, F F, which afford support or bearing for the fifth-wheel E,are secured upon the front and rear elevated portions of the hounds, thecurved'for'm of the latter permitting said cross-pieces to be ofdimensions necessary for strength without the necessity of making themof considerable vertical depth, as usual er appearance in the parts; andthe advantage is obtained also that the forward ends of the hounds arebrought into position to sus- By this construction the necessary tainthe tongue at a proper distance above the 1 ground without the use of avertically wide or deep axle, as is usually necessary when hounds of theusual form are employed.

In the particular construction of the wagon over rough roads, and'forthis purpose the;

king-bolt G is provided at its lower end with a cross-piece or T-head,G, having bearings in the sand-board, and the said king-bolt is extendedupwardly through the bolster and is engaged with a spring acting againstthe bolster to hold it in contact with the sandboard in the manner setforth in Letters Patent of the United States No. 266,101, granted to meOctober 17, 1882. As shown in said patent, the spring is of spiral form,and is located in a recess in the bolster. As an improved constructionin these parts, and in order to avoid weakening the bolster by makingthe recess therein, a leaf-spring, G, is herein shown, through themiddle of which the king bolt passes, and to which it is secured bymeans ofa nut, upon the kingbolt above the spring, whereby the ends ofthe spring are caused to press againstthe upper surface of the bolster,and the latter is yieldingly held in contact with the sand-board.

The novel construction in the hounds herein shown and claimed mayobviously be used in wagons in which the bolster is not adapted to utilt or oscillate, and in other forms of fifthwheel wagons, as well asin the particular form of gear herein shown. It will be observed, also,that the bent hounds constructed generally as above set forth areadapted for use in the running-gear of a lumber-wagon of the kindprovided with a fifth-wheel, the bolster D herein shown in such case ofcourse forming the usual front bolster.

A is the rear axle, which, together with the front axle, A, is, asherein shown, provided with tubular skeins A A'-,which are prolonged orextended inwardly beneath the axles, as indicated at (1, Figs. 2 and 3,and provided with collars formed by split rings or sleeves A, which areclamped about the skein by means of bolts a, inserted through lugs eastupon the sleeves, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

In the construction illustrated of the parts of the gear at the rear endof the wagon, K K are longitudinally-arranged bars supporting thecross-pieces L of the wagon-body and bolted to horizontal plates orflanges a", cast upon the sleeves A, blocks K being, as shown, placedbelow the bars K to sufficiently elevate the latter above the axle-arms.

The construction described in the split sleeves A and the bars K isshown and described in an application for Letters Patent of the UnitedStates made by Cristoph Hot-z simultaneously with the presentapplication, and is not herein claimed as part of myinvention.

As an improved means ofbracing the wagonbody and lower axle fromrelatively-lateral movement, inclined braces M are herein shown, whichare bolted at their upper ends to the cross-piece L, over the axle, andare extended outwardly and downwardly, and are bolted to the blocks K atpoints adjacent to the axle, the lower ends of said braces preferablybeing extended inwardly along the top of the axle, and secured tothelatter by means of bolts a which also serve to secure to the axle theprolongation a of the skein, as before described. The axle A is alsoshown as additionally braced from the wagon-body by inclined bars N,secured to cross-bars L of the body at the front and rear of the axleand extending downwardly beneath the latter, said braces, as shown,being secured to the axle by the bolts a before mentioned.

The sleeves A of the front axle afford a convenient means of attachmentfor inclined brace-rods extending from the ends of the axle to theforward portions of the hounds, as indicated at a, Fig. 3.

As an improved means of supporting a skid beneath the rear of the bodyof the wagon of the character herein shown, means are provided asfollows: The skid-support consists, generally, of a longitudinal woodenbar, 0, sustained centrally beneath the wagon-body, as herein shown, bymeans of a transverselyarranged U-shaped iron bar, P, bolted to thecross-bar L at the rear end of the body, and supporting the rear end ofthe bar 0, and an inclined bar, 0, attached to the forward end of thesaid bar 0, and bolted to the bottom of the body. A skid, Q, is shown ashung beneath the body in the manner proposed, said skid beingconstructed, in the usual manner, with two side pieces connected bycurved metal crossbars q, the skid differing from those ordinarily usedonly in having short central bends or depressions, q, in the bars (1,adapted to engage the upper edge of the bar 0. The said bar 0 isprovided upon its upper edge near its rear end with anupwardly-projecting part, 0, gradually inclined at its rear side, andvertical, or nearly so, at its side toward the front of the wagon, andalso preferably with a second elevated part, 0, between the saidprojection 0 and the front end of the bar. The depressed or lowerportions of the bar 0 are arranged at the same dlstancc apart as thecross-bars q of the skid, and are so located that when the skid is in aconvenient position for carrying the said cross-bars will rest at thedepressed portions of the said bar 0, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

From the construction above set forth it is obvious that the skid may bereadily placed in the position shown in the drawings by first restingone end of the skid upon the bar I? at the rear of the wagon, and thenthrusting the skid inwardly until the said cross-bars q pass over theelevated parts 0 0 of the bar 0 and reach the depressions in said bar.The presence of the abrupt or vertical edge at the forward end of theprojection 0 obviously prevents the skid being withdrawn without firstlifting its rear end sufficiently to allow the rear cross-bar,q,to passover the projection 0, so that liability of the said skid beingdisplaced by the shaking movemeuts of the wagon is entirely avoided.

In order to steady the skid when hung upon the bar 0, as abovedescribed, and to prevent.

any swinging or oscillatory movement thereof, its ends which are towardthe rear are preferably constructed to rest upon the bar I, and a secondU-shaped cross-bar, P, is provided to similarly support the side bars ofthe skid at the forward part of the wagon, said bar, as shown, beingbolted to the forward cross-piece, L, of the wagon-body. The bar 0 isdesirably provided with a metal strip, 0, at its upper edge, to preventwear, said strips, as shown, being continuous with the supporting-bar O.This particular construction is not essential, however, and the bar 0may-be made of metal instead of wood, or otherwise constructed than asherein shown. The bar I? is, as shown, provided at the points at whichthe side pieces of the skid rest with leather strips 9, forming cushionsto prevent the skid from becoming chafed and to prevent noise.

The essential feature of construction in the skid-support is the barO,provided with a projection upon its upper surface having an abruptedge adapted to engage one of the crossbars of the skid, so as toprevent the removal of the latter without lifting the cross-bar over theprojection, and so far as this part of my invention is concerned it maybe carried out by the use of a support in which the projecting part 0 isabsent, and which is sustained from the wagon-body otherwise than by theparticular means shown.

It will be observed that the particular construction herein shownin themeans for sustaining the rear end of the wagon-body from the rear axleis of particular advantage in connection with a skid-support of thecharacter shown, for the reason that a central open space is therebyleft between the rear axle and the wagon-body in which said skid-supportmay be conveniently located.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the front axle,

sand-board, and fifth-wheel of a wagon, of

hounds made of bent wood and curved downwardly or depressed betweentheir ends and attached between the axle and sand-board, and cross-barsof less vertical width than the sand-board attached to the front andrear elevated ends of the hounds for sustaining the fifth-wheel,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the front axle, sand-board,bo1ster, andfifth-wheel of a wagon, of bent-wood hounds curved downwardly ordepressed between their ends and attached between the axle andsand-board, cross-pieces of less vertical width than the sand-boardattached to the front and rear elevated ends of the hounds, bars H H,attached transversely to the bolster, cross-pieces I Lattached to thebars H, and posts J J ,interposed between the fifth-wheel and the saidpieces I, substantially as described.

3. The combination,with a wagon, of a skidsupport attached beneath thewagon-body, and consisting of a longitudinal bar, 0, provided with aprojection, o, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination,with awagon, of askidsupport consisting of alongitudinal bar, 0, provided with a projection, 0, and transversesupporting-bars P and P, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination,with a wagon, of a skidsupport consisting of alongitudinal bar,O,provided with projections 0 and o, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

MARTIN CONRAD.

\Vitnesses:

O. CLARENCE POOLE, LOUIS SoHIFFLIN.

